| PENN STATE vs. BUFFALO | |
| Saturday, Sept. 12 - 12 p.m. ET | |
| Beaver Stadium | University Park, Pa. | |
| Game Day Information: | |
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| TV: ESPN |
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| Game Notes: Penn State | Buffalo |
| Statistics: Penn State | Buffalo |
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | UB | |
| 10.0 | Scoring* | 51.0 |
| 9.0 | 1st Downs* | 24.0 |
| 77.0 | Rushing* | 212.0 |
| 103.0 | Passing* | 255.0 |
| 180.0 | Total Offense* | 467.0 |
| 1/0 | Fumbles/Lost | 1/0 |
| 6/39 | Penalties/Yards | 7/56 |
| 9/39.0 | Punts/Avg, | 3/37.0 |
| 15% | 3rd Down % | 38% |
| 0% | 4th Down % | 100% |
| 2 | Sacks | 2 |
| 0 | Interceptions | 2 |
| 1/1 | Red Zone | 6/6 |
| 23:45 | Time of Possession | 31:16 |
* - Per Game Statistics
Sept. 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After opening the 2015 season on the road, Penn State will play its next five games in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, starting with Buffalo Saturday in a game that will air on ESPN2.
Despite the relatively close proximity, this is just the third meeting between the two programs. Penn State traveled to Buffalo for the first meeting in 1900, but the two teams did not meet again until 2007. That meeting took place in Happy Valley, with a career day by Rodney Kinlaw leading the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions to a 45-24 victory.
Buffalo opened its season against FCS-level Albany, earning a 51-14 victory at home. The Bulls boast an experienced offensive group but lost six defensive starters from a year ago. Senior quarterback Joe Licata has thrown a touchdown pass in his last 13-straight games and in 27 of his 29 career starts.
Penn State will be looking to get back in the win column after falling to Temple, 27-10, at Lincoln Financial Field. After getting a three-and-out on defense, the Nittany Lions got off to a fast start as Brandon Polk ran a jet sweep for a 33-yard gain to key a drive that would end with a Joey Julius field goal. Another defensive three-and-out and Akeel Lynch would break off a 42-yard touchdown run for an early 10-0 lead. The momentum would shift though as Temple found its rhythm offensively and challenged Penn State's pass protection on defense. The Owls would pull within three points before halftime and then added 20 points in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Christian Hackenberg completed 11-of-25 passes for 103 yards, while Chris Godwin hauled in five receptions for 81 yards to lead the Penn State receiving corps. Lynch finished with 78 yards on 10 carries. Senior defensive end Carl Nassib, initially a preferred walk-on, made the most of his first career start, shattering his previous career high of four tackles with 10 stops on the day, including one sack.
Next, the Nittany Lions will get an early taste of Big Ten action when Rutgers visits for a night game on BTN, Sept. 19. San Diego State will make the cross country trip the following Saturday and then Army West Point will challenge Penn State for the first time since 1979. The Homecoming game on Oct. 10 against Indiana will close out what will be Penn State's first five-game homestand since 1922.
BUFFALO HEAD COACH LANCE LEIPOLD
Lance Leipold is in his first season as the head coach of the of the State University of New York, Buffalo football program, winning his debut game over Albany, 51-24, last week.
Leipold arrived at UB from Wisconsin-Whitewater where he compiled a 109-6 record and won six Division III National Championships over his eight seasons. A six-time National Coach of the Year, Leipold reached 100 career victories faster than any other coach in NCAA history -- at any level.
Leipold has gathered multiple honors from as many as five football-related organizations. He earned his sixth American Football Coaches Association Division III Coach of the Year award in 2014. He has won the award more times than any coach at any level, passing Joe Paterno, who was a five-time recipient of the award.
His only previous Division I coaching experience came in the Big Ten from 1991-93 as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, where he helped the Badgers to a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance in 1993.
Leipold is a 1987 graduate of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he was a standout quarterback for the Warhawks.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
Buffalo utilized a balanced attack of 212 rushing yards and 255 passing yards to win its season opener over Albany, 51-14. The Bulls were strong defensively after yielding 14-play, 82-yard touchdown drive on Albany's first possession, allowing just 82 yards on the next seven Albany drives and forcing three turnovers for the game.
Joe Licata completed 20-of-26 passing attempts for 246 yards and two touchdowns, while Anthone Taylor ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Three different receivers had at least 56 yards receiving.
Licata is a senior signal caller, who has started since the final four games of his redshirt freshman season. He entered 2015 holding the program record for career touchdown passes with 60. His 29 touchdowns last season led the MAC and were a single-season school record. He was also the only MAC quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in every game and was added to the 2015 Manning Award watch list.
Taylor, who is on the Doak Walker watch list, is coming off a junior season in which he rushed for 1,802 yards. Senior Ron Willoughby was named to the Biletnikoff watch list after leading UB with 50 receptions, 771 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns last season.
FIVE IN A ROW AT HOME
The Nittany Lions host five consecutive home games for the first time since 1922 and the third time in program history when they welcome Buffalo (Sept. 12), Rutgers (Sept. 19), San Diego State (Sept. 26), Army West Point (Oct. 3) and Indiana (Oct. 10) to Beaver Stadium.
Penn State last played five consecutive home games in 1922, going 5-0 with wins over St. Bonaventure (54-0), William & Mary (27-7), Gettysburg (20-0), Lebanon Valley (32-6) and Middlebury (33-0).
The Nittany Lions also hosted five-straight home contests in 1920. Penn State also was perfect in those games with wins over Muhlenberg (27-7), Gettysburg (13-0), Dartmouth (14-7), North Carolina State (41-0) and Lebanon Valley (109-7). The 109 points scored against Lebanon Valley still stand as the program's game scoring record.
While Beaver Stadium has never seen five consecutive home games, it has hosted four in a row five times, doing so in 1977, 1982, 1986, 2002 and 2009.
HOME OPENERS
- Penn State has won 12 out of its last 13 home openers and its last two consecutively, defeating Akron last season, 21-3, and Eastern Michigan in 2013, 45-7.
- Penn State is 114-13-1 all-time in home openers and 46-9 in Beaver Stadium
- This is the fourth consecutive home opener against a MAC opponent. Ohio opened the 2012 season.
PENN STATE VS. THE MAC
Penn State owns a 23-3 mark against the 2015 football alignment of the Mid-American Conference.
The Nittany Lions have played 10 of the 13 members of the MAC, playing their first MAC opponent, Buffalo, on Nov. 29, 1900. The Lions lost, 10-0, that day on the road.
The Nittany Lions defeated Eastern Michigan, 45-7, and Kent State, 34-0, in 2013 and Akron, 21-3, and Massachusetts, 48-7, in 2014. UB is the lone MAC opponent Penn State will face this season.
PENN STATE VS. NEW YORK TEAMS
Penn State owns a 77-39-9 record against teams from the Empire State. The Nittany Lions last faced a New York team in 2013 when they met Syracuse in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Lions will host two N.Y. teams this season, also hosting Army West Point Oct. 3.
NITTANY LIONS FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK
- Offensive line coach Herb Hand is a native of Westmoreland, N.Y. and played football at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.
- RB Akeel Lynch is a Toronto, Ontario, native, but attended St. Francis High School in suburban Buffalo. He was selected as the 2011 New York Gaorade Player of the Year as a senior.
- T Charlie Schuman, is from Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester which annually hosts the Buffalo Bills for preseason training camp. He attended Pittsford/Mendon-Southerland High School.
PSU-BUFFALO CONNECTIONS
- PSU redshirt freshman punter Robby Liebel and UB redshirt freshman offensive lineman Matt Murphy played together at IMG Academy in St. Petersburg, Fla.
- PSU freshman running back Andre Robinson and UB freshman Brandon Stanback played together at Bishop McDevitt High School in Mechanicsburg.
- PSU junior tight end Brent Wilkerson and UB senior fullback Kendall Patterson played together at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md.
- PSU redshirt freshman guard Chasz Wright and UB linebacker Travis Pitzonka both attended Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y.
- Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Brent Pry is a Buffalo alum. He played defensive back for the Bulls and served as a student coach in 1992 after a career ending injury. He graduated in 1993 with a degree in history.
- Team consultant Jim Haslett earned his first coaching job at Buffalo, where he was an assistant coach from 1988-90 when Pry was an underclassman. Haslett was also a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills.
NEW BEGINNINGS
The Nittany Lions had seven first time starters at Temple in their season opener; three on offense, three on defense and one on special teams.
First time offensive starters: OT Paris Palmer, WR Brandon Polk, TE Brent Wilkerson.
First time defensive starters: DE Carl Nassib, CB John Reid, DE Garrett Sickels.
First time special teams starters: PK Joey Julius.
Ten redshirt freshmen made their debuts at Temple: RB Mark Allen, DE Torrence Brown, LB Koa Farmer, PK Joey Julius, CB Amani Oruwariye, LB Troy Reeder, RB Nick Scott, WR DeAndre Thompkins, DT Antoine White, OT Chasz Wright.
Five true freshmen made their debuts: RB Saquon Barkley, LB Manny Bowen, LB Jake Cooper, WR Brandon Polk, CB John Reid.
WARTMAN-WHITE SIDELINED FOR THE SEASON
Junior linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White will miss the remainder of the 2015 season after suffering an injury in the season opener at Temple Saturday. The Philadelphia native had two tackles playing in his hometown before going down with the injury in the second quarter.
After piling up a team- and career-best 11 stops vs. Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Wartman-White ended the season as the team's second-leading tackler behind All-American Mike Hull. His 75 tackles in 2014 more than doubled his previous career high, with his 6.2 stops per game ranking 28th in the conference. He grabbed his first career interception at Indiana in 2014, helping secure the Nittany Lions victory, and added 3.5 tackles for loss.
WINS LEADER
In its 129th season of varsity football, Penn State has amassed 849 victories to rank No. 8 in the nation. The Nittany Lions are one of just 10 programs with 800 wins and currently hold an official all-time mark of 849-377-42.
STOPS BEHIND THE LINE
Penn State's 15 tackles for loss against Temple were the second-most in the country during the opening week, trailing only Colorado State, which racked up 16 against FCS-level Savannah State. Eleven different Nittany Lions were credited with at least an assist, led by Carl Nassib, Brandon Bell and Anthony Zettel with 2.5 TFL each, while Trevor Williams had 2.0.
NASSIB SHINES
Senior defensive end Carl Nassib rewarded the Nittany Lions for putting him in the starting lineup making a career-high 10 tackles at Temple. His previous high was four stops on October 5, 2013 at Indiana. Nassib also recorded his second career solo sack, good for a 12-yard loss in the second quarter, and his 2.5 tackles for loss are also a career-best. The younger brother of former Syracuse and current New York Giants quarterback Ryan Nassib, Carl initially joined Penn State as a preferred walk-on in 2011.
FAST START FOR POLK
Not only did true freshman WR Brandon Polk start the game, but the first offensive play was to him, as he sprinted 33 yards from scrimmage. He finished with two carries for 50 yards.
GODWIN LEADS RECEIVING CORPS
Sophomore wide receiver Chris Godwin caught five passes for 81 yards at Temple and now has at least one catch in 13 of 14 career games. Godwin's five catches give him two career games with five-or-more grabs, joining his seven-catch night vs. Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
RETURN GAME
Redshirt freshman Mark Allen's four punt returns against Temple were the most by a single Penn State player since Justin Brown returned five punts on Oct. 29, 2011 vs. Illinois. The team's nine returns vs. Temple (5 KO, 4 P) were the most in a single game since returning nine vs. Houston on January 2, 2012 in the TicketCity Bowl.
LEFTOVERS FROM TEMPLE
- Senior cornerback Trevor Williams tied his career-high with six tackles, matching his six stops vs. UCF on September 14, 2013. Williams' 2.0 TFL surpassed his career total entering the game (1.5 TFL).
- Junior linebacker Brandon Bell forced his second career fumble in the second quarter. His first forced fumble came vs. Nebraska on November 11, 2013.
- Bell's 2.5 tackles for loss are a career-high, surpassing his 2.0 TFLs at Indiana on Nov. 8, 2014.
- Redshirt freshman defensive end Torrence Brown recovered his first career fumble in the second quarter.
- Junior defensive end Garrett Sickels made a career-best four tackles, surpassing his three-stop effort vs. Maryland on Nov. 1, 2014.